Tiger Woods involved about Charlie’s celeb

Tiger Woods is aware of he can’t management the hype round his son Charlie and his budding junior golf profession.

However he certain wish to.

Subsequent week, 46-year-old Tiger and 13-year-old Charlie will tee it up alongside each other on nationwide tv on the PNC Championship. The sports activities world will tune in to see {the golfing} legend, to observe his proficient little one and to understand their father-son dynamic. It’s a enjoyable occasion they usually stay up for it; each Tiger and Charlie crave competitors and benefit from the {golfing} highlight. Final 12 months the duo nearly received, too, after a final-round 57 (the format is two-man scramble) that included 11 consecutive birdies.

On the grounds, it’s been all good. The 2020 occasion was performed with few spectators because of Covid, and the galleries a 12 months in the past had been capped at an inexpensive quantity, too. Expectations appeared cheap, too, till Charlie hit a sequence of unimaginable pictures down the stretch that bought all people speaking. Then, for a second, the son appeared like the larger draw than his father. However Woods hopes everybody can preserve issues in perspective and he sees it as his job to attempt to shield his son as greatest he can — and to arrange him for no matter comes.

“I informed Charlie a very long time in the past, and it is a life lesson my Dad gave me. I informed him this a very long time in the past and I’ll reiterate it with him. I mentioned, ‘Son, you’ll by no means be my buddy. I’ll all the time be pleasant. However I’ll all the time be your dad,’” Woods mentioned on an episode of Bridgestone’s “Another Golf Podcast” earlier this week.

“As a dad, my duty is all the time to provide the recommendation and the impetus and the surroundings to study and develop and prosper and be a sounding board and to make one of the best choices in life, particularly once I’m not there any extra. That’s my job.”

Woods joked that the message doesn’t all the time get by and that Charlie — who has a mischievous streak — will name him “different phrases” apart from Pops or Dad. However that’s superb.

“We are able to all the time be pleasant, my dad was all the time pleasant to me, however he was my dad first,” he mentioned.

Tiger was famously on nationwide tv when he was simply two years previous. He was doing function TV interviews at age 14. He is aware of the fun and the pitfalls of a life lived in public. And whereas Charlie has been largely shielded from the general public eye, their PNC appearances have created viral moments and elevated expectations. That’s all good, up to a degree — they did signal as much as play in a televised occasion, in spite of everything — however Woods urged restraint.

“After we’re on the market taking part in I’m his dad, so I’m protecting of him,” Woods mentioned. “Clearly I need him to do one of the best he presumably can. I need him to study from every thing. However I additionally wish to shield him from, like, all of this. The surroundings. Particularly this point in time. After I grew up there have been no digicam telephones, there have been no movies. I attempt to shoo individuals away, ‘let him get pleasure from, don’t put any stress on him, let him play, let him be a child, OK?’”

This can be Staff Woods’ third 12 months taking part in the occasion collectively, although it’s the primary time Woods has spoken so immediately about his considerations for his son rising up within the highlight.

“When he first performed PNC he was 11 years previous,” Woods continued. “Let him be an 11-year-old child. He’s in sixth grade, for god’s sake. Now he’s in eighth grade, however let him go on the market and be a child. Get pleasure from it! You don’t nitpick youngsters.”

Woods had informed the NBC broadcast crew eventually week’s Hero World Problem that he’d inspired Charlie to mannequin his swing after Rory McIlroy reasonably than himself. He needs different individuals would resist the plain Tiger-Charlie comparisons, too.

“Don’t evaluate him to me, he’s not me. He’s Charlie,” he mentioned. “He’s going to be his personal individual. And no matter street he goes down, he’s going to go down his personal street. And he’s going to create his personal path. And that, to me, is so vital as a father, that I present that surroundings and that help. That he can go down no matter path he desires to, I simply need him to do one of the best at it.”

Woods will tee it up at the Match this Saturday. He teased that his sport is prepared — “I can hit it on the vary with anyone,” he mentioned — however continues to wrestle together with his strolling. He missed final week’s Hero World Problem with plantar fasciitis that he suffered whereas ramping up his prep for this taking part in stretch.

“It’s a development,” Woods added. “Now I’m fortunate sufficient that I’ve gotten to the purpose the place I can truly hit golf balls full velocity. I’m hitting it laborious once more, which is nice. I can hit any shot you need. Now the development is I would like to have the ability to stroll after which I can compete in opposition to these youngsters once more.”

In different phrases, Woods hasn’t given up on his aggressive {golfing} future simply but. One other factor is obvious, too: He’s desperate to see how Charlie does below the highlight, too. He’s pleased with his son’s sport.

“His swing velocity has gone up — I imply, I’m speaking method up this 12 months,” he mentioned later within the podcast.

You possibly can hearken to all the interview here.